Location: 3rd row of pillars north of Belden.
Installed: Aug. 2016
Many at DePaul think of Ray Meyer as basketball at DePaul. Meyer coached the men’s basketball team from 1942-84, and he recorded 37 winning seasons and twelve 20-win seasons, including seven straight from 1978 to 1984. Two Meyer-coached teams reached the Final Four (1943 and 1979), and in 1945, Meyer led DePaul past Bowling Green to capture the National Invitation Tournament, then considered the national championship. One of his best players was George Mikan, who was recruited by DePaul in 1942 and was a game-changer and basketball’s first, great “big man.” Meyer recruited Mikan from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, a school Meyer had himself earlier attended. Meyer eventually attracted great players like Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings by the end of his career.(Both went on to play in the N.B.A.).
Meyer was well respected among his peers in the coaching ranks and revered in Chicago. He was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979, and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Many of his contracts with the university were sealed only with a handshake, as he had a great respect for the Vincentian community that lead DePaul.
The design of his pillar features his portrait, and many photos from the yearbooks from his time at DePaul. All of the photos making up ‘Meyer’ are in a vertical construction. All are set on a pebble-grain basketball background.